Rotary lading strap anchor



" fuly IETQSS A. L. SLADEK 2,843,060

ROTARY LADING, STRAP ANCHOR Filed Oct. 6, 1955 i I 3 INVENTOR.

e? 7- TaEA/s 74st United States Patent:

2,843,060 Patented July 15, 11958 ice RQTARY LADING STRAP AN CI-R Achilles L. Sladelt, St. Paul, Minn., assiguor to Schaefer Equipment Company, Pittsburgh, Pa., a corporation of Pennsylvania Application October 6, 1955, Serial No. 538,850

1 Claim. (Cl. 105 369) This invention relates to anchoring devices for lading straps, cables and wires used to hold lading in railway cars, trucks, ships and airplanes.

It is among the objects of this invention to provide such an anchor which can be rotated to different positions, which does not protrude beyond the floor or wall where it is located, and which is sturdy and easy to make and install.

In accordance with this invention, a supporting member is mounted in the floor or sidewall of a railway car or the like, and is provided with an opening through it. A rotatable ring is connected with the support in coaxial relation with the opening. Preferably, the ring is held against the back of the support around the opening and also extends forward into the opening. A cross bar extends across the ring so that one end of a lading strap or the like can be wrapped around the bar and secured. To help guide the strap around the bar, a guide member should extend across the back of the bar and be bowed away from it. The ends of the guide may be connected to the ring.

The invention is illustrated in the accompanying drawing, in which- Fig. l is a front View of my lading strap anchor attached to the inside of a railway car or the like;

Figs. 2 and 3 are cross-sections of the anchor, taken on the lines IIII and III-III, respectively, of Fig. 1; and

Fig. 4 is a cross-section through a modification.

. Referring to Figs. 1 to 3 of the drawings, a supporting member 1, in the form of a channel, is installed in the floor or inner sidewall of a load-receiving compartment in place of one or more of the usual boards. The support may be of any desired length, depending on the number of anchors that are to be located along it. At the location of each anchor the support is provided with a circular opening 2 that is considerably wider than the widest lading strap that will be used. Rotatably mounted in the opening is the outer or front portion of a heavy ring 3, which does not project beyond the outer surface of the support. The inner or rear portion of the ring has a larger external diameter than the front portion and therefore overlaps the rear surface of the support around opening 2. This prevents the ring from moving forward out of the opening. To keep it from moving back out of the opening, a retainer 4 is welded to the back of the support around the ring. This retainer preferably is in the form of a collar encircling the ring and having a radial flange overlapping the back of the ring. The collar holds the ring in position but does not engage it tightly, so the ring'is free to turn on its axis.

Extending diametrically across the ring is a heavy cross bar 5 that is joined at its ends to the inside of the ring.

This bar is what an end of a lading strap, cable or wire (all referred to herein as lading straps) is wrapped around to anchor that element. It is desirable to have means that helps wrap the strap around the bar, so a guide member 6, preferably in the form of a rather thin strip of metal, extends across the back of the cross bar. This guide is bowed back away from the bar, and its opposite ends are secured to the ring at opposite sides of the bar. T o wrap a lading strap 7 around the cross bar, one end of the strap is inserted in the ring and pushed against the curved guide. The guide will cause the end of the moving strap to travel in an arc around behind the cross bar and then out of the front of the ring at the opposite side of the bar. The projecting end of the strap then can be grasped and secured to the rest of the strap in any suitable manner, whereby the strap will be connected to the cross bar. The ring will turn to adjust itself to the position of the strap. When not in use, this strap anchor forms no obstruction in the load compartment because it does not project from the supporting member.

In the modification shown in Fig. 4, the ring 13 is held in place in the opening 12 in supporting channel 11 by means of a retaining plate 14, which extends across the channel member and has rearwardly turned flanges welded to the channel flanges. The plate is provided with a large opening 18 to receive the bowed guide member 16. This guide is shown integral with the ring, in which case the ring and guide member and cross bar 1 can all be forged in one piece.

According to the provisions of the patent statutes, I have explained the principle of my invention and have illustrated and described what I now consider to represent its best embodiment. However, I desire to have it understood that, within the scope of the appended claim, the invention may be practiced otherwise than as specifically illustrated and described.

I claim:

A lading strap anchor for railway cars and the like, comprising a support provided with an opening therethrough, a rotatable ring of larger diameter than said opening and coaxial therewith, the ring being engageable with the rear surface of the support, a retaining member secured to said support substantially in engagement with the back of the ring for rotatably supporting the ring, a cross bar extending across the ring, and a guide member extending transversely of the bar behind it with the opposite ends of said member connected to the ring, the guide member being bowed rearwardly away from said bar for guiding a lading strap around the bar, said retaining member having an opening through which said guide member projects.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,467,681 McKinney Apr. 19, 1949 2,605,719 Smith et al. M Aug. 5, 1952 2,605,721 Johnson et al Aug 5, 1952 2,688,504 Parker Sept. 7, 1954 2,733,670 Sheesley et al. Feb. 7, 1956 2,733,671 Sheesley et al. Feb. 7, 1956 2,740,361 Goldberg Apr. 3, 1956 FOREIGN PATENTS- 304,925 Great Britain Jan. 31, 1929 

